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Help with Windows Sound Recorder
Setting up for Simple Voice Recordings
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Note to Macintosh OS-X users: Download
the freeware utility Audio
Recorder.
Windows
Sound Recorder is a simple audio recording utility included with all
versions of the Microsoft Windows Operating System published since 1995.
It hasn't changed over the years, so this tutorial should be accurate
no matter what version of Windows you are running.
After
installing Sound Recorder, use it to record
your voice for Distance Learning courses, such as Spanish 101 and Spanish
102. You can save the recorded files and send them as e-mail attachments.
To do this, your computer must have a sound card (most do) and a you'll
need a headset/microphone to plug into your
computer.
Other
features of Sound Recorder include simple editing, mixing, and adding
effects to sound files with ease. Let your imagination and creativity
loose to create your own sound effects.
Launching
Sound Recorder
- In Windows
XP, navigate to Start > All Programs > Accessories > Entertainment
> Sound Recorder.
- In Windows
98 (Win98) or Win2000, navigate to Start > Programs > Accessories
> Entertainment > Sound Recorder.
- In Win95
or WinNT 4.0, navigate to Start > Programs > Accessories >
Multimedia > Sound Recorder.
When the
Sound Recorder pops on-screen, you�ll notice that it looks a bit like
a tape recorder front panel.
- In the
center of the window is a flat, green line. As the sound plays or records,
this green line oscillates to visually represent the sound.
- To the
left is the Position indicator, represented in hundredths
of a second.
- To the
right is the Length indicator, showing the total duration
of the sound file.
- Below
these features is a Slide Bar indicator that shows
where the sound file is playing, relative to its overall length. You
can use the scroll bar to move through the sound file. The bar moves
by either sliding it with the mouse or clicking on the right or left
arrows.
- Finally,
located below the Slide Bar, you�ll see the universal symbols (from
left to right) for Rewind ,
Fast Forward ,
Play
, Stop
, and
Record .
Now that
you�re familiar with Sound Recorder, we�ll walk you through some tasks.
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Playing
a Sound
To
play a sound, open the file and click on the Play button.
- On the
File menu, click Open. A dialog box will appear.
- Navigate
to the folder containing the sound file you want to play, select
the file and then click Open.
- Click
the play button to
start playing the sound.
- Click
the stop button to
stop playing the sound.
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Navigating a File
When working
with long sound files, you�ll want to move through them as quickly as
possible.
- To move
forward or backward, use the Sound Recorder scroll bar, or the keyboard
left & right arrow keys.
- To move
to the end of a file, click the Fast Forward button ,
move the scroll bar to the right or press END on the keyboard.
- To move
to the beginning, click Rewind , move the scroll bar to the left or press HOME
on the keyboard.
- To play
part of the sound file, slide the scroll bar to any point in the file
and click Play .
Note that
the Rewind and Fast Forward buttons work instantly; one click takes you
immediately to the beginning or the end.
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Setting
the Recording Format
High quality
recordings create large sound files. This could cause problems if you
try to send those files as e-mail attachments. To avoid this, set the
recording format in Windows Sound Recorder to create files that are of
good quality but not so large as to choke your e-mail service.
Step
1
In the File menu, click Properties. A dialog box will
appear.
Step
2
Use the Choose from: pull-down menu to select Recording
formats, and click Convert Now... |
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Step
3
In the "Sound Selection" window, use the Attributes:
pull-down menu to choose 8.000 kHz, 16 Bit, Mono, 15 kb/sec.
This will change the settings to create a recording that
sounds comparable to a good cell phone call. A one minute sound
recording should be just under 1 MB (megabyte) in size.
To
compare, an audio CD uses ten times as much data: 44.1 kHz/16 Bit/Stereo,
for a file size of 1 minute = 10 MB.
Step
4
To save these settings, click the Save As... button.
A pop-up will prompt you to "save this format as." Type
in a name you'll remember, such as "Audio E-Mail," and
click OK.
Step
5
You'll return to the "Properties for Sound" window. Click
OK on this window, then OK on
the Properties window, and your next sounds will be recorded at
the 8 kHz/16 bit/Mono format. |
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If you've
already recorded your voice at high-quality, you probably ended up with
some large files. To reduce the file size of existing recordings:
- Open
the previously recorded sound, then click the File
menu, and Properties.
- Use the
Choose from: pull-down menu to select Playback formats,
and click Convert Now...
- On the
next dialog box, use the Name: pull-down menu to select
Audio E-Mail, the name of the quality level you created
above.
- Click
OK on this window, then OK on the
Properties window, and save your file with a new name.
- Compare
the original file with the new file saved at lower quality. The new
file size should be much smaller.
Here are
3 files created from the same recording, saved at different recording
settings. Compare sound quality vs. file size.
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Setting
the Microphone Record Level
To
record and play audio, you'll need a sound card, a microphone,
and speakers or headphones. If your record button can
be activated, your PC is equipped to record. To record your voice,
hook the microphone into the audio-in jack on your computer's sound
card. Before you begin recording, check your microphone settings
for a proper volume level.
- After
starting Sound Recorder, click on Edit>Audio Properties.
- In the Audio
Properties dialogue box, under the Sound recording section, check
to see that your sound card is the Default device (change this
if necessary).
- Below
the Default device, click on Volume.
- In
the Recording Control dialogue box, be sure the microphone is
the selected recording source, and turn its volume up full.
- Close
this dialogue box and return to the Audio Properties box.
- Click
OK.
You have successfully
turned your microphone level up to record your voice at a proper
volume level. |
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Recording a Sound
To record
and play audio, you'll need a sound card, a microphone
and speakers or headphones. If your record button can
be activated, your PC is equipped to record. To record your voice, hook
the microphone into the audio-in jack on your computer's sound card. (see
above to set the microphone record level.)
- Make
sure you have a microphone connected to your computer.
- On the
File menu, click New.
- To begin
recording, click and
speak into the microphone.
- To stop
recording, click .
- To continue
recording, click and
speak into the microphone again.
- When
finished, click to
stop recording.
-
On the
File menu, click Save As. Type a new name for your file,
select the location where it will be saved, and Click the Save
button.
You
can specify the default sound quality before you record a sound (see
above>>)
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Editing
a File
The editing
tools are located in Sound Recorder�s Edit menu. After
you edit a file, click Play to listen to your changes. If you like what
you hear, save the file. (You�ll probably want to change the name.) If
you don�t approve of the new sound, and you haven�t saved the file, choose
Revert from the File menu to restore the file to its previous state.
The editing
options are:
- Insert
File
- This
inserts an entire sound file anywhere in the current file. An inserted
file will increase the sound file�s length.
To insert Ding.wav
into Chord.wav, you:
- Scroll
to the desired location in the Chord.wav file.
- Select
Insert File from the Edit menu. The Insert File dialog box appears.
- Select
Ding.wav.
- Click
OK.
To
listen, click Play.
Remember, if you want to save the file, change the name. (You don�t
want to write over the original Chord.wav file.)
- Mix
With File
- This
mixes a second file with the original file. The sounds in the files
will play simultaneously..
To mix the
Chord.wav file with the Chimes.wav file:
- 1)
Scroll to the desired position in the Chord.wav file.
- 2)
Select Mix With File from the Edit menu. This brings up a dialog
box.
- 3)
Select Chimes.wav.
- 4)
Click OK.
- Delete
Before Cursor Position
- This
deletes information from the beginning of the file to the current
position in the file.
- Delete
After Current Position
- This
deletes information from the current position to the end of the file.
-
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Adding Effects
To give
your file a little extra flavor, you can add special effects. These effects
are available in the Effects menu and they manipulate
the entire sound file. So if you only want a portion of the file to have
a special effect, you�ll have to copy the sound file, cut it into portions,
apply the effect a portion at a time and then combine them again.
The effects
in Sound Recorder are:
- Increase
Volume
- This
increases the volume by 25%. (However, you can select this option
twice for a 50% increase, three times for a 75% increase, and so on.)
- Decrease
Volume
- This
decreases the volume by 25%.
- Increase
Speed
- This
doubles the rate of a sound�s playback.
- Decrease
Speed
- This
slows the rate of a sound�s playback by 50%.
- Add
Echo
- This
adds an audio reverb.
- Reverse
- This
reverses the sound so it can be played backward.
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Increasing
The Maximum Recording Time
Sound Recorder
included with Windows 95 and Windows 98 has a default maximum time of
60 seconds of continuous recording. If you stop recording at any point
before reaching the 60 second limit, you can then continue recording and
have another 60 seconds of continuous time before Sound Recorder automatically
stops. You can repeat this start-stop routine indefinitely if you need
to record a long passage as one file.
Here's an
alternate method to increase the maximum recording time in Sound Recorder:
- Make
sure your microphone is muted so it will not
pick up sound.
- Click
Record, and then let Sound Recorder run for 60 seconds (recording
silence).
- After
Sound Recorder stops recording, click Save As on the File
menu, and name the file Blank.wav.
-
To increase
the maximum recording time in Sound Recorder, click Insert File
on the Edit menu, and then insert the Blank.wav file that you
saved in step 3. When you do this, the maximum recording time is increased
by 60 seconds. You can repeat this step once for each additional minute
of recording time that you want to add. For example, for a 5-minute
recording time, insert the Blank.wav file five times.
Here's
a 30 second, Telephone quality, blank file [324 kb] you can use.
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More Information
Installation
- If the Sound Recorder (sndrec32.exe) is not already installed on your
system, you will find instructions for its installation by clicking
Start>Help, then choosing the Index tab and typing "Sound Recorder".
Display the instruction by double clicking on Installation. Also, install
the Windows 95 volume control by placing a check in the volume control
box when checking the Sound Recorder box during the Sound Recorder installation
process.
Microphone
- To record sound, any inexpensive microphone with a mini plug that
fits into your sound card microphone jack on your computer will do.
An inexpensive stand microphone that you can buy in a computer store
is nice, since it frees your hands for keyboarding. A slightly more
expensive headset/microphone allows you to also listen in privacy without
disturbing others around you. Click here
for suggestions.
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